Thanks to the success of Israeli Olympians, Israel has already won six medals at the Olympic Games in Paris:
bronze – Peter Paltchik – judo (up to 100 kg); silver – Inbar Lanir – judo (up to 78 kg); silver – Raz Hershko – judo (over 78 kg); silver – Sharon Kantor – windsurfing; gold – Tom Reuveni – windsurfing; silver – Artem Dolgopiat – gymnastics.
This achievement marks Israel’s best performance in Olympic history.
President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, Michael Mirilashvili, congratulates the Israeli athletes who earned Olympic honors in Paris:
“On behalf of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, I heartily congratulate our Olympians on this magnificent result. You are the pride of our country and a ray of light and joy in these challenging times.”
President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, Mikhail Mirilashvili, extends his deepest condolences on the tragic death of 12 teenagers resulting from the rocket attack on Majdal Shams by Hezbollah terrorists on July 27. We are profoundly shocked by this horrific event and share in the pain and grief of the local community.
The Druze community has always been an integral part and a unique jewel in the rich ethnocultural mosaic of the State of Israel. The community’s dedication and contributions in all areas of Israeli life are invaluable and serve as an example to others.
The EAJC maintains a warm relationship with the spiritual leaders of the Druze community, and our thoughts, prayers, and support are with them during these horrible times for the whole community.
30 years ago, on July 18, 1994, the largest terrorist attack in the history of Argentina took place at the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) Jewish center in Buenos Aires. A truck packed with explosives drove into the center, completely destroying it. 85 people were killed and more than 300 were injured. Until the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, this attack was the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust.
Today, 30 years later, the crime has still not been solved. Argentine law enforcement and Israeli intelligence assume that it was carried out by the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, on orders from Tehran.
On the occasion of this important date, the World Jewish Congress, the Latin American Jewish Congress, in cooperation with AMIA and the Argentine authorities, held a series of events aimed at recalling the terrible tragedy and coordinating joint efforts to combat anti-Semitism around the world. Leading politicians, diplomats, scientists, entrepreneurs and leaders of Jewish communities took part in conferences, commemorative ceremonies, meetings and lectures.
The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) also emphasizes the importance of historical memory and the need to thoroughly study the darkest pages of Jewish history – such as what happened in Argentina 30 years ago. Without this, it is impossible to combat modern anti-Semitism and confront the most difficult challenges that the State of Israel and Jewish communities around the world are currently facing. After October 7, 2023, anti-Semitism is once again raising its head – and we have once again become convinced that the existential threat is not illusory and that uniting to confront it is the main task of the Jewish community today.
EAJC President Dr. Michael Mirilashvili said:
“We are talking about a difficult period for our people not only in the State of Israel, but also beyond its borders. In addition to the terrorist attack on Israel, we have witnessed powerful anti-Israeli sentiments from Latin America to the European continent.
It is obvious that any manifestations of hatred and violence against Jews, as well as against any people, should be illegal.
To our great regret, today we understand that not everyone in the world has learned one of the main lessons of the Second World War. Not everyone is aware of what fundamentalist theories and ideologies built on blind hatred can lead to. Not everyone is aware that such phenomena destroy the foundations of the very society in which they flourish. Both 30 years ago in Buenos Aires and on October 7, 2023, we once again witnessed the inhuman cruelty that people obsessed with the hatred of their ideology are capable of.
The Hamas attack on Israel has raised a wave of blatant anti-Semitism around the world. The scale of this chronic disease – hatred of Jews, which is taking on new forms – has once again shocked us.
It turned out that all the enormous work that we are doing, including with our partners from the World Jewish Congress, under the leadership of my long-time friend Ambassador Ronald Lauder, is not enough. But we must not give up. Education, active diplomatic work and dialogue keep us believing that one day we will finally talk about anti-Semitism as another black page in our history.”
Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), took part in The Jerusalem Post’s annual conference on June 3 at Gotham Hall in New York. This prestigious event brought together leading diplomats, politicians, opinion leaders, technology innovators, and heads of Jewish communities from around the world to discuss the implications of the October 7, 2023, tragedy and Israel’s ongoing conflict with pro-Iranian forces in the region.
In his recorded address, Dr. Mirilashvili called on global leaders to establish clear boundaries against unacceptable incitement to hatred and calls for violence against Jews and Israel. He emphasized the need for proactive measures by Jewish leaders worldwide to address these challenges. Notably, he advocated for a reevaluation of the funding and structuring of higher education programs on the Middle East in the world’s leading universities.
Dr. Mirilashvili also urged caution in defining anti-Semitism, warning that its meaning could not be diluted during this sensitive period for Israel. He appealed to Israeli leaders to recognize the complexity of the current situation and to avoid political infighting when making crucial decisions that affect the entire Jewish nation.
A high-ranking delegation of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) attended the Executive Committee meeting of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) in Jerusalem. The series of meetings and working sessions took place from May 21 to 23. This was the first gathering of Jewish community leaders from around the world since the horrific attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and 240 hostages (125 of whom, including women, children, and the elderly, are still being held in Gaza).
The EAJC delegation included Chairman of the Board Aaron G. Frenkel, President Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, and Director General Dr. Haim Ben Yakov.
They participated in discussions addressing the pressing issues facing the global Jewish community in light of Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas: the sharp rise in anti-Semitism worldwide, the fight against terrorism in the Middle East, the Iranian threat to Israel, and support for those affected by the war, Israeli residents and IDF soldiers. The WJC Executive Committee meeting concluded with a resolution affirming the commitment of the World Jewish Congress and its affiliated communities to the Jewish national state with Jerusalem as its capital. The resolution underscores unwavering support for Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace and security, with recognized and protected borders and the right to defend itself against all threats.
Additionally, the leaders of the Jewish communities vehemently condemned the actions of Hamas terrorists, who orchestrated and carried out the most brutal and deadly attack on Jews since the Holocaust on October 7, 2023. WJC leaders expressed deep sorrow for the civilian victims and concern over the current humanitarian situation in Gaza. They acknowledged Israel’s significant efforts to minimize civilian casualties and emphasized that the situation resulted from a war that was initiated by Hamas. The WJC called on international leaders to recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization and to condemn Iran’s role in supporting and inciting pro-Iranian terrorist organizations in the Middle East.
Furthermore, WJC leaders demanded the immediate release of the 125 hostages held in Gaza.
The WJC Executive Committee’s resolution also condemned Iran’s act of armed aggression against Israel on April 14, 2023, when the Islamic regime launched more than 300 combat drones, ballistic and cruise missiles towards the Jewish state.
The Annual General Assembly of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress was held online on Tuesday, 9 April. The Assembly was attended by EAJC President Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, EAJC Board Chairman Aaron G. Frenkel, EAJC First Vice-President Boris Lozhkin, EAJC Vice-Presidents David Yakobashvili, Moshe Shvets and Victor Naishuller, EAJC Director General Dr. Haim Ben Yakov, as well as leaders of Jewish communities and Congress member organisations.
Welcoming words of support were delivered by EAJC President Dr. Michael Mirilashvili and EAJC Board Chairman Aharon G. Frenkel, assuring the participants that despite the most difficult period for the State of Israel and for Jews around the world, our people have the strength and wisdom to overcome all challenges.
EAJC Director General Dr. Haim Ben Yakov also highlighted the complexity of the period and briefly presented what has been done by the Congress leadership since the war began on October 7:
“Unfortunately, as in all our previous Assemblies, we have to emphasize again that we are still meeting in a very challenging time and a truly transformational period. First we experienced a pandemic, then this was followed by a period of not even one, but several heavy wars. Obviously for the past six months, the focus of our attention, as well as that of Jews around the world, has been on the Jewish state, the heavy war here and its consequences.
From the very first day, the EAJC and its leaders have been actively involved in assistance on virtually all fronts. The EAJC has assisted key non-profit organizations in Israel in the areas of health care and assistance to bereaved families, as well as numerous volunteer projects throughout the country launched since the beginning of the war to provide food, hygiene products, drinking water and other items to those in need.
We pay special attention to diplomatic work. Since the outbreak of the war, we have been in active communication with leaders in our region about what is happening in Israel.
It has also become a challenge to bring verified and accurate information to people around the world, including in the Russian-speaking community. It is our common cause and task to appear on all possible platforms, to convey Israel’s position and to fight against the tonnes of lies, distorted facts and manipulations directed against our country.”
During the Assembly a music and video compilation, “A Day of Sorrow and Heroism,” produced by the Congress for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, was presented.
The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress expresses sincere condolences to the Russian people, the families and friends of the dead and wounded, and everyone affected by the monstrous terrorist act that occurred on March 22nd in the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region.
According to official information, the number of victims of the terrorist attack exceeded 130 people, and more than 150 were injured and wounded.
EAJC President Dr. Michael Mirilashvili said:
“We strongly condemn the deadly, monstrous terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, which claimed the lives of an unimaginable number of innocent people. We mourn with the families of the victims and pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded. The EAJC leaders and all Jewish communities in the Euro-Asian region constantly warned: the dangerous spread of radical Islamism, terror, cynically and vilely hiding behind a screen of pseudo-religious ideas, is the main threat to all humanity.
As Israeli President Isaac Herzog correctly noted, jihadist terror sees no difference between a Jew, a Muslim, a Christian, or anyone else. His goal is to sow chaos, hatred, destruction and death.
The people of Israel came face to face with this threat on October 7, 2023. We, more than anyone else, are aware of the existential danger it poses to everyone. Therefore, we are convinced that the whole world, without exception, must put aside divisions and political interests and work together to resist this endless evil. Only a decisive and persistent fight against terror can prevent future tragedies.”
The two-time Oscar winner for Best International Film and Best Sound was the British film ‘Area of Interest’, about the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The film’s director and screenwriter, Jonathan Glazer, made a statement at the awards ceremony regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. He claimed that there is a moral equivalence between the Nazi regime, which sought to exterminate the Jews, and the people of Israel, who have for years resisted the urge to destroy it: “Our film shows what dehumanization leads to,” he noted. – “It has shaped our entire past and present. The victims of 7 October in Israel or the victims of the ongoing war in Gaza are all a consequence of dehumanization.”
Glazer used the Oscar ceremony to equate Hamas’ shocking brutality against innocent Israelis with Israel’s required self-defensive actions in the face of the Hamas ideology’s cruelty.
In the struggle against the humanistic ideals promoted by the followers of all Abrahamic religions, radical Islamists are ready to kill, burn, rape, and behead, as they did to the German-Israeli young woman Shani Luk. The photo of her lying unconscious in the back of a Hamas pickup truck that was taking her to Gaza spread around the world as a symbol of both horror and desperate hope that maybe she was still alive at the time. For some time, Shani’s relatives and acquaintances in Germany and Israel kept this hope and prayed, but then the girl’s skull was found and identified. What an incomprehensible barbarity it is that drove someone to cut her head off.
Moreover, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, said on 4 March in a report issued following a 17-day visit to Israel that the team of experts she led had found “clear and convincing” information on the rape and sexual torture suffered by hostages taken during the 7 October terrorist attack on Israel.
Victims of radical Islamist brutality emphasize the ruthlessness and immorality of terror, which Glazer attempts to justify with his statements.
In response to Glazer’s Oscar acceptance speech, more than 450 Jewish Hollywood professionals signed an open letter saying, “…Every civilian death in the Gaza Strip is tragic. Israel is not attacking civilians. It is acting against Hamas. The moment Hamas releases the hostages and surrenders, the heartbreaking war that began after the Hamas attacks of 7 October will end. Using words such as “occupation” to describe the Jewish people defending their ancient homeland and a recognized state is just a history distortion. Such statements lend authenticity to the current blood libel that fuels the growing anti-Jewish hatred around the world, including in the United States and Hollywood. The current climate of rising anti-Semitism only underscores once again the need for a Jewish state of Israel – a place that will always welcome us. Which is what no state did during the Holocaust, depicted in Mr Glazer’s film.”
Len Blavatnik, who financed the film and was on stage at the award ceremony, distanced himself from Glazer’s message. His spokesman told the famous American film magazine Variety: “His (Blavtnik’s) longstanding support for Israel is unwavering.”
President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, M.Mirilashvili, noted: “The talented film director at the ceremony in Hollywood insulted the memory of those who died during the Holocaust and on 7 October in Israel. Glazer’s words downplay the Shoah and justify crimes of the most heinous kind and thus give new strength to the supporters of terror. Outside of any connection with political views, Glazer’s speech, an example of self-loathing, is worthy of condemnation, which has been done by many prominent figures in the world film industry.
Israel has become the collective image of the Jewry. The Israelis, descendants of the Biblical Jews, eternal wanderers of history, victims of pogroms and blood libels, who for hundreds of years did not have their statehood but who created their state on the land of their ancestors, are once again on the front line of the struggle for human values, the foundations of Western civilization, against barbarism and the ideology of death. We will fulfill our mission, no matter what it takes, as we always persistently did”.
President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), Dr Michael Mirilashvili, participated in the German-Israeli summit “Joint Perspectives” held in Berlin on 14 February.
The conference was organized by the Israeli Jerusalem Post and Germany’s Die Welt.
During the conference politicians, diplomats, businessmen and public figures from Israel and Germany discussed the prospects for cooperation between the two states against the backdrop of Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist organization.
Dear friends,
I’m pleased to welcome the organizers and participants of this significant conference.
It is symbolic that this time, the conference takes place in Germany. This land has produced some of the world’s greatest philosophers, writers, scientists, musicians, and scholars of Jewish origin. Jewish life on German soil has known different periods of highs and lows, from medieval isolation and persecution, through flourishing times of emancipation, to the terrible years of Nazism, which became a catastrophe for our people.
But German society has learned essential lessons from those terrible years. Eventually, a renewed and democratic Germany became a true friend of Israel. It has always assisted the Jewish state in times of need and continues to do so today, for which we are sincerely grateful.
Today, the German authorities take Jewish security very seriously and fight uncompromisingly any manifestations of anti-Semitism. No wonder Jewish life in Germany only keeps evolving these days. The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress maintains working relationships with revived Jewish communities and organizations in Germany, consisting to a large extent of people from the former Soviet Union. More recently, we have launched a series of publications in cooperation with one of Germany’s most prestigious academic publishers – De Gruyter.
Still, not everyone has learned one of the major lessons of the Second World War. Many haven’t realized what fundamentalist theories and hate-filled ideologies can lead to. Only a few can fully recognize that such ideologies erode the very foundations of the society in which they thrive. Tragically, on October 7th, we once again witnessed what inhumane brutality people obsessed with their ideology are capable of.
More than that, the events of the horrifying terrorist attack on the Israeli population have also raised a wave of blatant anti-Semitism around the world. The scale of this age-old chronic disease – hatred of Jews, which is taking on ever new forms – has once again managed to surprise us.
Apparently, all the hard work we are doing, including with our partners at the World Jewish Congress under the leadership of my friend Ambassador Ronald Lauder, is not enough. But we must not put our hands down. Education, proactive diplomacy, and peaceful dialogue keep us dreaming that maybe one day, we will speak of anti-Semitism in the past tense.
Interfaith dialogue is a prime example of this. It may have once seemed that religions would always be at feud. But from long centuries of religious wars and persecutions, we have come to mutual recognition and religious tolerance in a relatively short time.
In this regard, I would like to emphasize that we do not see the war with Hamas as a confrontation with Islam as a whole. Hamas terrorists, like other radical Islamists, may claim to be true representatives of Muslims. Still, we know that Islam, like other Abrahamic religions, is, in fact, based on the ideals of peace, cooperation, and respect for others.
One doesn’t need to look far for examples.
Many Muslim Arabs, citizens of the State of Israel, participate in all spheres of public life and hold many senior positions. Our brothers and fellow citizens – Druze and Bedouin – fight terror alongside Jews, serving in the Israeli army and police.
The Abrahamic Accords have opened the door to unprecedented cooperation between Israel and the Gulf countries. The companies I manage are taking part in this process. Together with our partners in the United Arab Emirates, we are addressing the water scarcity and food security challenges in our region.
We always believed that technology and care for human life, growth, and well-being would bring a new reality to the Middle East.
One of the companies I run, Watergen, produces devices that make clean drinking water from moisture in the air. Before the war, several such devices were installed in the Gaza Strip, where people were suffering from a shortage of clean drinking water. Watergen was the only company to install dozens of its devices in Gaza in cooperation with the Israel Defence Forces and local partners. They were connected to solar panels and operated in hospitals.
The reality has changed since then. But the brutal war unleashed by Hamas terrorists won’t mislead us or harden our hearts. I am convinced that if society eliminates its radical ideology, opposes lies and propaganda, admits mistakes, and chooses to cherish every human life, everything can change in less than a generation. And if anyone doubts this, just look around. Germany has already made this way, and today, it serves as a great example that even on the rubble of raging hatred, it’s always possible to grow a truly blossoming garden.
We will continue to fulfill our essential mission in the world – to be ‘light to the nations’ and, together with those who believe in peaceful coexistence, we will build a more confident, sustainable, and peaceful future for us and the entire region.
And it is crucial to talk about this kind of future now. Therefore, I again thank the conference organizers, welcome all its participants, and wish you all fruitful work.
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) presents the music and video composition “Day of Sorrow and Heroism”. The project is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust during the Second World War and the people who died at the hands of Hamas terrorists in a war that began on 7 October 2023 with a treacherous attack by terrorists from the Gaza Strip on populated areas in southern Israel.
The idea for the musical composition belongs to violinist and composer Alexander Povolotsky, who has worked with the Bolshoi Theatre, the USSR State Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1990 Alexander has lived in Israel and is currently Principal of the ensemble of soloists of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra ‘Tel Aviv Virtuosi’.
The scriptwriter and director of the video is Maxim Kolyshev, a finalist at Cannes Lions, the world’s most prestigious international festival of commercials. He repatriated to Israel in 2023.
